'Johnny Eager' had a good cast going for it, though those involved haven't had careers that were consistently good in films and performances in my personal and respectful opinion, and an interesting idea for a story. Director Mervyn LeRoy had good and more films under his belt, with 'Random Harvest', 'Waterloo Bridge' and 'Gold Diggers of 1933' coming out on top, all three wonderful films.
Found myself really enjoying 'Johnny Eager' and finding a lot to like. It is not a flawless film, but the good things far outweigh what doesn't quite work and these good things are actually great. Those who love classic film, films of this type and are fans of LeRoy or any of the cast members are likely to not feel disappointed in 'Johnny Eager', with what the film was seen for in the first place not being wasted at all. A good thing as a bugbear of mine with film and television, and have seen this too many times over-time, is waste of potential.
Sure the story is a little over-complicated in spots and at times the film does feel slightly over-plotted, meaning that not everything makes sense.
Paul Stewart's accent, and this is going to come over as a nit-pick, is pretty indecipherable and his performance was on the odd side.
The rest of the cast are on the money though. Robert Taylor has varied with me as an actor, in some films he's good and in others he comes over as dull compared to stronger colleagues in more interesting roles. His performance is the former in 'Johnny Eager', he is very well cast as one of his more interesting characters and commands the screen with ease. He has a scintillating chemistry with charming and epitome of glamour Lana Turner, making the most of relatively little. Edward Arnold gives a typically strong performance. The acting honours go to Van Heflin, absolutely delicious in a complex role and his Oscar was more than well deserved.
LeRoy's direction is tight yet controlled when needed. 'Johnny Eager' looks very lavish without being overly glossy, particularly the production design while the photography is beautifully slick and atmospheric. Bronislau Kaper's score is suitably haunting, and the script is suitably taut and thoughtful, making an effort to not make the characters and storytelling cliched. The story moves at a lively, but seldom rushed, tempo and has suspense, sensuality and emotion, that pent house balcony scene is very hard to forget.
Summarising, enjoyable film with much to like. 7/10
